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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24265231">summertime is meant to fall in love</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/caihongs/pseuds/neopunch'>neopunch (caihongs)</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>NCT (Band)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Australia, Alternate Universe - High School, Angst, Coming of Age, Eventual Happy Ending, Friends to Lovers, Implied/Referenced Drug Use, Implied/Referenced Underage Drinking, M/M, Pining, Summer Love, they are Boys being Boys</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-05-19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 23:15:19</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>5,849</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24265231</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/caihongs/pseuds/neopunch</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Summer is warm and sticky, burning rubber soles, Tom and Jerry playing while they drive along the M31, noses burning as waves roar over them, air-dried brown locks spread over his shoulder. It’s the season that Jeno falls in love and now that he has it for an infinite number of days, months, and years, he’s not going to ever let go.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Huang Ren Jun/Na Jaemin, Lee Donghyuck | Haechan/Lee Jeno</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>24</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>68</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>summertime is meant to fall in love</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><ul class="associations">
      <li>For <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/ravenboy/gifts">ravenboy</a>.</li>



    </ul><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>this is for my 4eva friend shav. you'll realise that a lot of this is taken from our own lives and i figured we've had a pretty exciting high school life together so i hope this puts our last six years together nicely, of course underneath a rose-coloured glass :)</p><p>this is derived from the australian au you might have seen me talking about on twitter but less about university and more of what i know and what i'm comfortable writing about! p.s. take the stuff about melbourne uni with a grain of salt because that was all from a google search + special thanks to my lovely friend elle (@jaeminhd on twt) for inspiring mark's characterisation &lt;3</p><p>title taken from jaden smith's summertime in paris ft. willow</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>It’s the two hour drive to the south, where the water drinks up the sand and the sun twinkles her eyes at babies in bucket hats and Jeno gets a massive sunburn somewhere on his back no matter how much sunscreen his mum slathers on him. </p><p> </p><p>It’s the ice-cream dripping sticky pink all over his wrinkled fingers because he’s too busy watching seagulls peck at a poor couple’s oil-stained cardboard box of hot chips. It’s the heat of the pavement searing through the rubber of his thongs and wet Billabong boardshorts clinging to his thighs and watching his parents share a singular hazelnut cone while his sister frolics in front of them, red wrap cardigan flying behind her in the wind.</p><p> </p><p>But most of all, it’s him. Grinning at Jeno, eyelashes just dusting the tops of his cheeks as he squints into the sunshine, hands outstretched to tug him into his arms and into the wide ocean. He laughs loudly when Jeno gets seaweed wrapped around his ankle and smiles prettily when Jeno gets the camera out for a shot. He steals bites of Jeno’s Paddle Pop, nips him in the sides when he’s not paying attention to his wet-sand masterpieces and puts his head on Jeno’s shoulder when the waves stop rearing their heads and duck down low. The babies in bucket hats leave, fast asleep in their strollers and the sun closes her eyes with them. It’s the Tom and Jerry that plays softly on the overhead monitor in the Lee’s family car, Jeno curled over the Nintendo DS trying to fight Bowser for what feels like the millionth time with a head of brown salt-crusted hair tickling at his collarbones. </p><p> </p><p>It’s summer and Jeno likes him a whole lot.</p><p> </p><p>In Year 7, Jeno cries when he gets his first fail and Donghyuck tells him it’s okay with his arms wrapped tight around his shoulders until he stops sniffling. They go to the library after school for an entire week and Jeno passes his next exam with flying colours. He buys Donghyuck an Icy-pole in exchange and pretends he isn’t paying attention to the drop of raspberry streaking down the edge of his lips.</p><p> </p><p>They go to the beach when school breaks in December and this time, the two families rent out a beach house. Jeno plays Monopoly with Donghyuck’s siblings until they knock out while Donghyuck and Jeno’s sister share hushed conversations on the couch. Donghyuck’s hair is growing long at the back and fans out against the head of the couch and while he’s distracted by Jeno’s sister's animated discussion about Chris Hemworth’s short-lived gig on Neighbours, Jeno takes the opportunity to scare him. He yells murder, then whines out <em> noona </em>and Jeno’s sister promptly whacks Jeno on the arm. </p><p> </p><p>While they sit together for dessert, Jeno sidles closer to Donghyuck and has taken a liking to running his fingers through his hair, much to the other’s chagrin. They share a single lamington and Donghyuck almost breaks his foot racing Jeno to the bathroom, jostling into him while they’re brushing their teeth for payback and Jeno gets a long toothpaste smear all over his pajama shirt. They’re sleeping on a mattress on the living room floor for fun and Donghyuck falls asleep first, breathing softly by the time Jeno’s flicked off the lights. It’s their first night out of two and when Jeno turns around to face him, he wishes they could be here together forever. A lofty dream for thirteen-year-old Jeno but he’d take his chances.</p><p> </p><p>Year 8 comes around, Donghyuck gets a girlfriend and Jeno cries, again. They kiss and hold hands and share sips of flat Solo for two weeks before they break up and Jeno can bear to look at Donghyuck without his lip quivering in heartache. They don’t talk about what happened and if Donghyuck is more clingy in the months after, he doesn’t say anything. Lets Donghyuck press his forehead to Jeno’s collarbone after soccer practice, puffing out hot breaths onto his chest, their hands clasped together on the way home, and feels Donghyuck’s lingering glance on him when Jeno drops him off at his house and turns back the other way. </p><p> </p><p>Summer knocks on their door late November and this time, they go hermit crab catching in the rockpools and Jeno gets stung by a bluebottle. Donghyuck tears up when Jeno bites his lip until it bleeds as the lifeguard starts treating the sting. But apart from that, they’re both taller this time and Jeno is stronger than Donghyuck now so when Donghyuck tries his hand at yanking Jeno into the water like he usually does, he ends up falling in instead. </p><p> </p><p>Year 9 is a blur. They’re still friends but they’re not in the same class this year, so Jeno has Renjun Huang this time while Donghyuck has Jaemin Na. Renjun likes drawing and singing, tends to squeeze the back of Jeno’s neck whenever he says something stupid, and is an all in all, good friend. He isn’t Donghyuck though and when Jaemin slips his hand into Donghyuck’s on their way to Maths, Jeno seizes up and Renjun has to pinch him to get him to snap out of it. It’s the fact that Donghyuck let it happen so easily, his lips curling into a soft smile when Jaemin grins his thousand kilowatt smile at him as they walk into M3 that has Jeno’s heart feeling strangled and Renjun stays mum for the entire period, only squeezing his hand in between their desks. </p><p> </p><p>Summer happens, like it always does but Donghyuck is busy glued on his phone, brushing away his younger sister when she begs him to play hide and seek and doesn’t give Jeno the time of day. It’s the longest season of Jeno’s life and while he entertains Donghyuck’s brother’s obsession with pirates, Donghyuck stays in his own room. Jeno’s sister is on a graduation trip with her own friends this time and it’s so painfully awkward when they’re alone that Jeno ends up sitting outside reading his prescribed text for English instead of making conversation. It’s safe to say the warmth from his previously summer-shaped best friend has all but ebbed this year, but Jeno stays hopeful when Dad puts the same Tom and Jerry episode on and Donghyuck falls asleep on his shoulder on the drive home. </p><p> </p><p>Year 10 is the year of change. Jaemin and Renjun now share Commerce together and Renjun tells Jeno to get off his high horse and talk to the guy for once instead of sending him glares from across the playground. Jaemin is delighted to finally meet the ‘Jeno Hyuckie is always talking about!’ and Jeno doesn’t know what to do or say to that when Donghyuck still hasn’t so much as given him a glance since the year started. Donghyuck is in a class of his own this year and when he spots Jaemin sharing his lunch with Jeno on his way to the canteen, Jeno doesn’t miss the way he falters and his eyes dim. </p><p> </p><p>Renjun, observant as ever, makes it his own mission to crack Donghyuck open and it works because Renjun is a determined boy and also, the two share more in common than Jeno initially realised. The four of them form their own little group with Jeno and Donghyuck even making light conversation now, which is miles better than not speaking at all. They work like a well-oiled machine until formal comes around and Renjun asks Jaemin to be his not-so-platonic date and for the second time, Jeno does not exist to Donghyuck. They attend together but Renjun and Jaemin both have tunnel vision for each other and Donghyuck slinks off to talk to Felix, leaving Jeno alone at the table until Yeji asks for a dance and they move in sync to Ed Sheeran. She’s good fun and Jeno actually finds himself laughing but also in awe as she gets in the middle of the dance circle and blows every boy and his mediocre bboy skills out of the water. </p><p> </p><p>The night ends with everyone piling into Renjun’s mum’s Civic, grabbing Maccas on the way home before they all fall out of the car, bellies full of soft serves and fifteen nuggets each and into Renjun’s living room. The sleepover consists mainly of trying to scrub their botched make up jobs off their faces, Donghyuck struggling with the glitter he smeared across his lids and Jaemin with the seemingly permanent lip tattoo hack he tried in the afternoon. Renjun and Jeno get off with just foaming cleanser and slide into their mattress pillow fort bed. Jeno gets the outside while Renjun snuggles in next to him, Jaemin and Donghyuck stumbling in after, positively beat after their ten step skincare routine. Jaemin ends up spooning Renjun, Renjun’s arm thrown on top of Jeno’s chest and Donghyuck sleeps with his head nestled into the junction between Jaemin’s neck and shoulder by some feat. They wake up to the smell of Chinese congee and before Jeno can get up to grab his utensils, Donghyuck puts a bowl and spoon in front of him.</p><p> </p><p>Renjun and Jaemin don’t hide their flushed cheeks around each other at the dinner table, and for the first time in a long time, it’s just Donghyuck and Jeno again. </p><p> </p><p>They don’t do summer this year because Jeno’s goes on a trip back to South Korea for his distant cousin’s wedding and Donghyuck only sends him a Christmas and New Year’s sticker on Kakao throughout the entire six weeks he’s gone. Jeno takes what he can get.</p><p> </p><p>Now they’re turning seventeen and that must stand for something because within the first month of Year 11, the four of them have gotten drunk off an embarrassingly small amount of a stranger’s cask of pineapple Vodka Cruisers at a mutual friend of a friend’s hotel party, and smoked someone’s sister’s weed in the next three. Renjun and Jaemin take a break and Jeno’s left with a heartbroken Renjun in his hands and no Jaemin or Donghyuck in sight for the entirety of Term 2. And as it seems, the four of them must revolve around Renjun and Jaemin, as when the two make up in the spring, Donghyuck and Jeno finally manage to look each other in the eyes and say hi. They choose subjects, freak out over the HSC, never get shit-faced drunk again, and because Renjun doesn’t want to run the risk of having his parents smell the ganja on his clothes and kicking his ass out, they all make a pact never to do it again. Or in the near future at least. </p><p> </p><p>Jeno and Donghyuck are back on talking terms for real now, with the latter even letting him drink his Coke Zooper Dooper juice despite that being the closest form of an indirect kiss they could ever have. Jeno gets a <em> ‘hey do you want to grab bingsu with me after school?’ </em> from Yeji and against his first instinct to say yes because over the last seventeen years of his life he hasn’t had the ability to say no, he rejects her. He also misses the fear that crosses Donghyuck’s eyes as he walks out of Chemistry to see Yeji standing in front of Jeno in the quad, only for it to evaporate instantly as Jeno shakes his head and apologises loudly and profusely for it. </p><p> </p><p>He doesn’t tell his friends about the incident until Renjun hears from Shuhua who’s in ensemble with Hyunjin who’s friends with Yeji and gets bombarded until he caves and says something incredibly stupid.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I like someone else!” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Care to share with the class?” Jaemin says, waving his wooden fork at Jeno’s face and Renjun gasps. Donghyuck stays uncharacteristically quiet besides Jeno.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“You— you guys don’t know them. Him,” Jeno utters softly and Renjun’s mouth takes the shape of an ‘o’ before he leans back and Jaemin follows suit.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Okay well— I wish you would’ve told us the cutest girl our grade asked you out.” Jaemin comments haughtily and Renjun pinches his boyfriend’s thigh, their shared limp salad completely disregarded on the asphalt next to them. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“It’s alright Jen,” Renjun reassures and as the sun begins to peep out from behind the clouds, Jeno feels like a tug at his sports jacket and when he turns to face Donghyuck, he’s already looking at him with this <em> look </em> in his eyes that Jeno doesn’t recognise. For someone you’ve known for more than half your life look at you this way and for you not to know what it means, Jeno finds himself tucking his hand into his pocket with Donghyuck’s own in it and hopes for the best.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They all make it into the prefect body unsurprisingly, Renjun and Jaemin as Captain and Vice-captain respectively, Donghyuck as Performing Arts Prefect and Jeno as Sports. Summer goes by in a flash and it’s spent at Port Stephens thanks to Renjun getting his P’s before the rest of them did their knowledge tests and having the balls to drive three hours that way just so they could spend the last vestiges of their youth in the sun before their last year of high school stuck guns up their asses. </p><p> </p><p>They do end up drinking again, but safely and while tipsy, Jeno doesn’t even realise that Donghyuck’s been sewn to his side for the entire night. They sleep with Cards Against Humanity strewn across the floor, Smith’s chicken chips dust artworks on their clothes, and the stench of flavoured soju on their breaths. Safe to say, they wake up cotton-mouthed and with killer headaches, but most shocking of all, is Donghyuck sprawled over Jeno, head planted on his chest and arms curled over his shoulders. Jaemin takes a photo and Renjun burps loud enough for the two of them to jolt awake, Donghyuck scrambling off Jeno when they both realise the position they’re in. The morning is spent cleaning up, taking showers, brushing teeth, and Renjun whips up a spectacular breakfast of Nutella on toast and scrambled eggs to share, while Jaemin shamelessly chugs the last bits of Nudie orange juice they bought last night for chasers. It’s a fun summer of course, but Jeno can’t get Donghyuck off his mind when the other doesn’t give him space to breathe. For someone who was centimetres away from kissing Jeno and known to be a runaway when things got weird between them, Donghyuck melded himself to Jeno’s being for their entire trip. They share Paddle Pops, milkshakes, whatever monstrosity of a meal Jaemin ordered for them as part of a bet over who would break their thongs first, that ended with Donghyuck tripping over Jeno’s ankle on the way back from Coles, resulting in Jeno slipping on cracked pavement and his Havaiana thong broken in seconds, Donghyuck’s doing the same, and prolonged looks that had Jeno feeling hot under the neckline of his muscle tee. </p><p> </p><p>But that summer ends without Jeno telling Donghyuck that he’s loved him since they were eight and the Lees met the other Lees at church and Donghyuck told Jeno that he was cool after he saved a kitten in a tree with only a large scrape to show for it and Jeno realised how warm he felt when Donghyuck sang for him whether it be hymns, Michael Jackson or something Jessica Mauboy. </p><p> </p><p>They start Year 12 and they’re so busy that summer seems out of reach at this point. Renjun has a breakdown over captain duties and his steadily falling grades while Jaemin tries his best to be there for his captain and boyfriend while maintaining his own level of sanity and general positive aura lest he breaks at the seams too. Jeno drowns himself in past papers and tutoring, barely taking time to train for swimming carnival, athletics and cross-country, let alone for each sports events’ zone, regional, and state carnivals, which he always makes it to anyway but can never seem to push past when others are always better and make it to nationals without him. Donghyuck is dedicated to smashing the HSC with his Arts units so his parents don’t inviscerate him come December and he doesn’t make it into his degree on the first try. They drift but see each other enough at Prefect meetings to know that they are all collectively suffering under the weight of the future and give each other enough looks while their coordinator shreds their ideas to bits to know that they’ll be there for each other through hell or high water. </p><p> </p><p>But what about Donghyuck and Jeno? What happened to the steaming love story between Jeno and his summer boy? Well, Donghyuck finds himself a hotshot private school boy by the name of Bomin that has Jeno’s figuratively on his knees upon realising that Donghyuck does actually like boys and the boy of his affections and desire is not Jeno but Mr Dad-Is-Probably-The-CEO-Of-Samsung over here in his pressed school shirt and gold badges adorning his lapel over here. He’s handsome, rich, and Donghyuck is heart eyes for the guy which Jeno can’t bear to witness, especially because for once, this private school boy is not as much of a jerk as the rest of his kind. If anything, Bomin was lucky to have found Donghyuck, but that’s just Jeno’s opinion. </p><p> </p><p>Yet when trials come around, Donghyuck comes knocking on Jeno’s door teary-eyed and Jeno’s heart explodes inside his ribcage and slices everything in its trajectory. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“He said that he’s moving back to South Korea after we graduate to work for his dad. Said he didn’t know if we’d last long distance,” Donghyuck says, hiccuping as Jeno only cradles him closer.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I’m sorry Hyuck.” Jeno doesn’t know how he’s keeping himself together as the love of his life crumbles in his hands.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“It’s okay Jen.” They sit on the couch for the rest of the night until Donghyuck falls asleep and Jeno wonders how they got back here. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They graduate in September, do their exams in October, and are out of that school for good by mid-November. By December, Renjun’s set on ANU while Jaemin’s at UNSW with Jeno, and Donghyuck decides on Melbourne. They knew they’d have to part at some point but when Jeno looks at Donghyuck, all he wants to do is kiss him silly and call him his for eternity. He’s been wanting to do that since they were fourteen but as Donghyuck packs his bags, they grab their last late night Maccas run, and Jeno realises how much he and his summer boy have grown, it’s too late.</p><p> </p><p>Jeno stays in New South Wales, acquaints himself with the likes of BSoc, goes to his first rave and first Ball, gets his first boyfriend, all without Donghyuck by his side. Jaemin and Renjun swap trips to and from the ACT and are still as in love as they were back in high school, which goes to show for something when the two of them get matching rings, which means commitment on the highest level for them. Donghyuck gets himself a new set of friends, those from Open week that were also from interstate, from his societies, and from the job he gets working at the General Pants in the CBD. Jeno only knows so much from stalking Donghyuck’s Twitter and it’s embarrassing at this point because when they all Facetime each other during mid-sem break for the first time in months, Jeno has to pretend to look surprised with Renjun and Jaemin when Donghyuck tells them about his new job, his One good professor and about the friends he’s found from joining MUBSO. </p><p> </p><p>Mark Lee is the perfect first boyfriend and at this point, Jeno considers longing for Donghyuck a permanent shadow hanging over his head, because if the ache has existed since he was fourteen and it’s only waned slightly at the age of nineteen, it has to be out of his control. </p><p> </p><p>Mark is an Actuaries kid, guitar playing extraordinaire, and has memorised Jeno’s Gongcha order from the countless times he’s bought Jeno tea no matter the occasion. He walks up all to the front of Platform 23 for his boyfriend even though he has to jet back to 18, sends him subtle asian trait memes in lieu of good morning texts, and gives him all the love Jeno could ever want or wish for. Yet, it comes to a point when Jeno doesn’t know how long he can keep lying to himself, and he tells Mark that he deserves better. It’s fucked, Jeno knows that even if Mark didn’t ask him for another chance, eyes rimmed red outside the library, but he can’t harbour feelings that have now solidified into a hard stone at the pit of his stomach for how long he’s repressed them for, for his childhood best friend when this boy gives him the universe in his hands, even if it burns the skin of his palms. Mark doesn’t let up, asks him why, and Jeno tells him that it’s his own fault, and like that, Jeno’s perfect first boyfriend is gone. Renjun and Jaemin offer him their words and hugs but they don’t pry when Jeno doesn’t say anything other than, ‘we broke up.’  </p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hyuck said he’s coming back home for summer break, asked if you were keen on taking a trip to the Gold Coast this time ‘round?” Jaemin says when he picks up Jeno from the station three months after the break-up and Jeno just sobs.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Oh my God Jeno, why are you—” Jaemin brakes the Mazda just as they’re about to turn out of the carpark and Jeno lets the floodgates wide open.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“You’re fucking with me… <em> Year 8?! </em> Actually, no, since you were <em> eight?! </em> Christ Jen, <em> all this time?</em>” Jaemin lets out a series of noises before Jeno manages to speak up without his body wracking into sobs again. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I’m such an idiot.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Jaemin doesn’t say anything, which only confirms his agreement and reaches for Jeno’s hand across the gearstick and squeezes. They sit in the carpark for a whole forty-five minutes before Jeno’s mum starts calling him and Jaemin puts the car back in drive, breaking only one speed limit to get Jeno home in under ten minutes. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Renjun isn’t even surprised when Jaemin lets him know over the phone and calls him a slew of curse words in Chinese and Korean, courtesy of Jaemin, before he huffs.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“You better get your shit together or else I’m feeding you to the kids on Schoolies, asshole.” Jeno takes that threat to heart and Jaemin slaps him on the back after he hangs up.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Sending you thoughts and prayers dude.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Donghyuck is supposed to arrive in Queensland the afternoon after Jeno, Jaemin, and Renjun so that gives Jeno precisely one night and half a day to decide what he’s going to say. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“So, I’ve been in love with you ever since we met outside our Korean Presbyterian church in Year 3 and you called me cool, haha I’m so sorry for keeping that tasty tidbit of information to myself for twelve years but now I want you to marry me, that cool with you?”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Oho, nice one babe!” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Could the both of you kindly shut up?”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>It’s a yelling fest in the Airbnb as Jaemin and Renjun watch Jeno lose his mind in real time, pacing down the hallway as Donghyuck texts them that he’s two hours from landing at Gold Coast Airport. </p><p> </p><p>Jaemin buys Jeno a McSpider for the road as they get into the Toyota to pick up Donghyuck and Jeno only murmurs a “cunt,” before he inhales the drink in two minutes flat.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Jaemin drops Renjun and Jeno off while he makes rounds around the pick and drop off zone and at this point, Jeno is again, at the verge of tears.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Get it together <em> punk.</em>” Renjun elbows him in the ribs as they reach the baggage collection and <em> God</em>, even with Jeno’s shitty eyesight he can spot Donghyuck immediately. His hair is still a soft brown but he’s lost the baby fat since they were eighteen and even through his jeans and graphic tee, Jeno can tell he’s leaner and stronger. Jeno can’t see his face yet and he’s not sure he wants to.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hyuck!” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hey— Renjun? Jeno?” Donghyuck swivels his head, and waves furiously at the two. Jeno musters up a tiny wave back and Renjun isn’t afraid to stomp on Jeno’s Balenciagas before he runs into Donghyuck’s arms. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“How are you?! We’ve missed you so much!” Renjun yells into Donghyuck’s ear as he holds him tighter and the younger and slightly taller one laughs, nuzzling into the embrace with his free hand.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I did too, and I’ll tell you how I’ve been doing after I say hi to Jen first.” Donghyuck pats lightly at Renjun’s back for him to let go and before Jeno can even say a word, Donghyuck comes surging and their foreheads knock together with a cacophonous sound.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Oof,” Jeno groans but Donghyuck is holding onto him so close, he can’t utter anything more than a ‘hi’.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hi Jen,” Donghyuck giggles out, nursing Jeno’s forehead while his arms are circled around his neck. Unknowingly, Jeno has his arms around Donghyuck’s waist, and Renjun, fulfilling his role as the Karen on Jeno Whipped Watch, coughs loudly.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Okay time to wrap it up boys, Jaemin’s already tried to escape the traffic control blokes twice now.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Donghyuck laughs again and lets go of Jeno in lieu of his luggage and like that, Jeno’s opportunity to ask Donghyuck out at the airport is gone. Not like he wanted to, or that he could’ve given his current emotional state and complete absence of courage in his being, but he figured it would be as close to the movies as he could get, and Donghyuck would probably enjoy the attention. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>He has to run to catch Renjun and Donghyuck as a result of his musings, earning grim looks and raised eyebrows from the airport staff and soon, it’s the four of them back in the car again.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They don’t even get a chance to chat because Donghyuck knocks out in the car and as life would have it, his head falls onto Jeno’s shoulder.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Not a <em> word.</em>” He mouths at the couple sporting smug smiles in the front and he flips the bird for extra measure. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Donghyuck wakes up only a little embarrassed at the fact he fell asleep the moment they hit the road like a baby, and less at the fact he fell asleep on Jeno, which only gets Jeno’s heart expanding to twice its size.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“So, I reckon we should go for a quick beach visit before lunch or just dip in the pool after lunch?” Jaemin says to no one in particular and Donghyuck only yells out a “<em>Call!” </em>from the bathroom.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“<em>Call </em> to what?!” Renjun screams back from the kitchen and Jaemin winces at the volume.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Beach!” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Jeno sits on the couch and stares at his reflection in the TV. It feels like someone invisible is pointing at him and laughing at whatever sorry state he’s landed himself in. The beach holds so much meaning to him, to them, it would be imbecilic of him not to take this opportunity to ask Donghyuck out. They can do a LDR for a year up until they both graduate, right? Jeno will go bonkers if he lets his lamentation extend further than twenty years, when Donghyuck is probably tied down by another Bomin with two kids, a Golden Lab and a house in the Northern Beaches with a stable career on top of that. The image makes him queasy.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“You alright Jen?”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Peachy.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>It boils down to Jeno taking a look at shirtless Donghyuck for him to turn and start running for the hills, only for Renjun to tackle him down onto the picnic rug before he can stand up and threaten to skewer him up for the gulls to peck on.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Jen hurry up!” and like they’re thirteen again, Donghyuck tugs Jeno by the hand into the water. The babies in bucket hats are here too and the sun makes Donghyuck shine like he was dipped in molten gold.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>It boils down to Donghyuck saving a toddler from being rolled over by the waves and him cooing at the little thing for Jeno to almost get down on his knee, only to realise again they were calf-deep in salt water and it was beyond inappropriate to ask Donghyuck to kiss him in front of a child.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Jen, are you alright? You don’t look too good.” Donghyuck wipes away the sand on Jeno’s cheeks, wet brown strands falling into his eyes as he feels for Jeno’s forehead.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I’m good Hyuck it’s okay, probably just the heat.” He frowns at that but goes further into the water anyway, hand firmly wrapped around Jeno’s own.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Okay, but if you pass out in the water, I don’t have the strength to save you and we’re probably going to end up on Bondi Rescue.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“We’re in Queensland.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Asian people drowning is not a Bondi-specific phenomena Jen.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Stupid,” Jeno says with only dripping affection and Donghyuck grins at him.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I bet you missed me heaps.” The water is reaching their waists now and when Donghyuck flicks the water out of his eyes, he looks like a dream.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>‘More than you’d ever know.’ </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They make it through a few waves, Jaemin snaps some pictures on his DSLR while Renjun re-reads Little Women under their tent, and Jeno’s fingers going wrinkly is a telltale sign that they’ve been in the water for a long time and he still hasn’t asked Donghyuck to be his boyfriend yet.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Here goes nothing.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hyuck? I wanted to tell you something,” Donghyuck cranes his head closer.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hm? What’s up?” The concern in his eyes has got Jeno in a spiral, because what if he says no? Then what? Jeno might as well skewer himself to do himself a favour.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I think I’ve been in love with you since we were eight and you smiled at me from behind your dad’s legs and called me cool for saving Ms Cook’s cat and when you sang We Are The World at church, and I don’t know why it took me twelve years but could you please, <em> please </em> be mine?”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>A crying baby is heard in the distance and some moron has lost his cricket ball in the water. Donghyuck stares at him, his face unreadable and at this point Jeno is seriously considering his options: to be eaten by sharks or let the sharks eat him—</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Oh Jeno, I thought you’d never ask.” and because Jeno is clearly the master of comedic timing, his entire life reading like a stand-up gig minus the deliberate joke writing and the pay, a wave promptly crashes down on their heads.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Jeno’s brain goes to mush, the impact of the tide hydraulic pressing his entire body as he sinks into the sand and he pushes his arms through the water, trying to reach for Donghyuck’s hand but there’s nothing in the front of him. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“-Jen?”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>He opens his eyes warily, his eyes stinging instantly, but Donghyuck is in the water a bit more than a metre in front of him, grinning with his forehead exposed as he runs a hand through his hair, and Jeno might be crying now. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hey baby, you alright?” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Jeno loves summer, he loves him a whole lot. He loves the way he perpetually glistens, and the way his warmth floods his surroundings. Likes the way he smiles, eyes curved and cheeks raised, how his hands are perfect for holding. How he works hard for the things he loves and how brave he is in all aspects of the word. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Doing just fine.” Jeno says softly, and if summer couldn’t get better, he presses a salty kiss to Jeno’s lips and Jeno tugs him closer by the waistband of his shorts. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Hey youse! Not in front of the children!” Jaemin all but bellows across the shore and a bunch of parents turn to stare at them, instinctively hiding their children although the two of them stopped exchanging spit immediately after. Jeno’s hands are still warm around Donghyuck’s waist and his neck and face are most definitely coloured pink but that doesn’t beat the way Donghyuck hides his face in Jeno’s chest and grumbles something along the lines of “dickhead,” which Jeno has to snort at.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“It’s alright, we’ll have plenty of time later.”</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Donghyuck squeezes his arm, wet hair tickling the underside of his chin when he looks up at him like a cat that got the cream, Jeno feels his lips curl into a smile.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>It’s been twelve years since Jeno first knew what summer truly felt like, another six to realise that he loved summer, and another six to realise that he wanted summer to himself for eternity. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“You’re a fucking cheeseball you know that, right? <em> Summer? </em>I sound like a white girl extra in Mamma Mia.” </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“I thought you would find it romantic!” Jeno is affronted by Donghyuck’s reaction to his association of his lover to summer, how he basically waxed poetic about him for more than half his life, only to be met with an unimpressed look.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“<em>Okay </em> Jeno, if I’m your summer boy, you’re mine. Even though we’re both born in the coldest bloody months of the year.” Renjun and Jaemin have gone to take a nap before dinner while Donghyuck is curved under Jeno’s arm, playing with the pads of Jeno’s fingers. It’s six-thirty now and the sun isn’t letting down just yet, the music of Surfers Paradise thrumming through their open balcony door and into the room. </p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>“Fine by me, baby.” Donghyuck groans at that but doesn’t fight it after as he tucks himself closer despite the heat emanating off both their bodies.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>They’ve got lots to talk about. How this is going to work out, if Donghyuck is planning on coming back home after grad, if Jeno is going to take up that exchange opportunity they’re offering in his last year, unpacking why exactly Donghyuck played hot and cold with him for a majority of their last years in high school, if they’ll be able to stick it through to the end, wherever that might be.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>But Jeno’s waited innumerable summers to have Donghyuck in his arms, so he’s going to take it slow. Donghyuck’s hand slides underneath Jeno’s tank, eyes adoring as he presses kisses all across his jawline.</p><p><br/>
<br/>
</p><p>Summer is warm and sticky, burning rubber soles, Tom and Jerry playing while they drive along the M31, noses burning as waves roar over them, air-dried brown locks spread over his shoulder. It’s Donghyuck Lee and all his brilliance in a kaleidoscope of sunflower yellows, cerulean blues, and raspberry reds. It’s the season that Jeno falls in love and now that he has it for an infinite number of days, months, and years, he’s not going to ever let go. </p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>favourite line?</p><p><a href="https://twitter.com/renminsungs">twt</a> + <a href="https://curiouscat.me/98mbins">cc</a></p></blockquote></div></div>
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